1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to board games, and more particularly to a football board game apparatus carried in a looseleaf binder and method of play.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Tyco Toys, Inc. of Mount Laurel, N.J. produces a line of sports games called "notebook games" including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and bowling, which are designed to fit in a conventional three-ring looseleaf binder. Each game includes a rigid plastic gameboard, one or more pennies, and a launcher or "shooter" for propelling the penny to a target. In the football game, a penny represents the football. A spring loaded penny launcher is slidably mounted in a slot at one end of the gameboard and is moved manually from side-to-side by the offensive player. A "blocking" device having a slot capable of receiving the penny is slidably mounted at the opposite end of the gamboard and is moved manually from side-to side by the defensive player. The game played by the offensive player attempting to "shoot" the penny into a scoring area while the defensive player attempts to "block" or "catch" the penny. The offensive player has four attempts to gain 80 yards and score seven points for a touchdown, or a touchdown can be scored by shooting the penny into the end zone. Thus, the play action is more like a target game rather than realistic football strategy.
There are several patents on board games based on football, most of which utilize a conventional hinged game board with a playing field depicted thereon, sets of cards, dice and/or spinners. Some of these football games are overly complex and have complicated charts to provide a more realistic result to the various possible plays, and also take a great deal of time to play.
Heidbrink, U.S. Pat. No. 1,838,398 discloses a football game apparatus comprising a game board having a football field represented thereon, a plurality of spinners each having a surrounding circular series of concentric segments for giving the results of various plays, and a chart adjacent the spinners for identifying any particular one of the series of segments according to the play which is called for.
Sadler et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,039 discloses a football game apparatus comprising a game board having a football field represented thereon and a playing piece movable therealong, an offensive play board having player selected columns representing offensive plays and chance selected rows intersecting with the columns to define offensive blocks, each containing yardage values, and a defensive play board having player selected columns representing defensive plays and chance selected rows intersecting with the columns to define defensive blocks, each containing yardage values. The values obtained in the selected offensive and defensive blocks are compared to determine the net yardage of each play and corresponding movement of the playing piece.
Cummins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,863 discloses a football game and teaching aid apparatus comprising a game board having a football field, score markers, down and quarter markers, ball position markers, and a reversible, invertible, slide indicator cooperating with the field representation which represents play moving from each end of the field and serves as a strategy selector for both offense and defense. Also included is an array of probability (chance) dial selectors to permit in-depth representation and operation of all the features and facets of football plays.
Godwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,346 discloses a football game wherein a player is given the choice of running a play, a passing play, or a trick play, by selecting either to draw from a deck of cards or to roll a pair of dice. The wording on the cards and the use of the dice being statistically weighted to simulate the results of a conventional football game. The manner and use of the dices changes with changes in the condition of the game, and two decks of cards provide for two different conditions of the game.
Haffey, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,580 discloses a football game apparatus comprising a game board having a football field represented thereon and a space at each end for run and pass options to be indicated thereupon, a ball position marker, a first down indicator, and individual down indicator, and two designation play markers. Two decks of cards provide a plurality of play situations for an offensive and defensive player. A multiplicity of down cards are controlled by the player starting on the offense while a multiplicity of kick cards are controlled by the defensive player. The offensive player chooses either a run or a pass and places a play designation marker on the board. The defensive player then attempts to anticipate the offensive play. The outcome is determined by comparing the offensive call with the defensive guess. Correct defensive guesses are statistically more favorable for the defensive player while incorrect defensive guesses favor the offensive player.
Hynson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,529 discloses a football game apparatus comprising a game board having a football field represented thereon, a plurality of defense instruction cards and offense instruction cards, a play result tabulation table inscribed on the game board for cooperating with a plurality of offense style cards and defense style cards. At the outset, the player determines a particular offense style to be used throughout the game. The offensive player may select a play of his own or use plays on the instruction cards. The offensive and defensive style cards corresponding to the play are each placed on the tabulation table and a direct reading corresponding to the two plays is taken from the table to determine the result of the play.
Rohme, U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,836 discloses a football game wherein the offense team chooses a play card and the defense team attempts to guess which play the offense. The degree of success in the attempt to guess is assessed. The degree of success together with a random number obtained by a selector are both used to locate the play result from a various probability result charts. The results are based on real events analogous to the degree of success the defense has in guessing what the offense will do.
Price, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,959 discloses a football game apparatus comprising a game board having a football field represented thereon, a playing piece movable therealong representing the position of the player, a plurality of decks of cards each related to a specific type of play and the result of a selected play. The game board is also provided with indicia representing betting areas including means for indicating different possible outcomes of a play or series of plays.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by football board game which has a first game board with a football field depicted thereon and a second game board having indicator and scoring devices thereon. An offensive play option board has a plurality of offensive football play options imprinted on one surface representing actions to be used by an offensive team to advance the football and the yardage gained thereby and a selection device for selecting an offensive play option. A defensive play option board having a plurality of defensive football play options imprinted on one surface representing actions to be used by a defensive team to stop the offensive play options, to cause a loss in yardage, to change possession of the football, and to cause a turnover which allows the defensive team to score a touchdown, and selection devices for selecting a plurality of the defensive play options. In one embodiment, the game apparatus includes a binder member having ring fasteners and a pair of hinged cover panels with the game boards and play option boards releasably fastened within the binder. The game boards and play option boards may be formed of magnetically attractive material and the playing token and selection members formed of magnetic material, or the game boards and play option boards may be slotted and the playing token and selection member slidably engaged in the slots. The apparatus may also include a chance device and a storage pouch releasably fastened within the binder.